Changes

As many of you know the house that we bought is an older home that belonged to Marty's grandparents. So when we moved here I made Marty promise me that we would do some remodeling to make it our own. We have done some painting in the bedrooms and put a shower upstairs but my most excited remodeling came when we pulled up our carpet in the living room and Marty so graciously put down hard wood. There was already hardwood in the living room but Marty wanted something different so we got Moabi ( I don't have a clue how to spell it). Here are the before and afters. I also got wood blinds to replace those beloved curtains.

Summer days.

Ashton and Hunter at the Brigham pool watching Kenzie. What good big brothers.

Ashton in his birdie towel. I bet he picked up lots of chicks in that get up.

Ashton and kenzie poolside.

This is as close as Kenzie would get to the water in Pinedale.

At my sisters in Pinedale. Who would've thought there would be beaches in Wyoming!

The girls with AJ. They loved playing with him.

Isn't she so cute!

Family camping trip that finally made us break down and by a trailer.

My sleeping beauties. This is how we all felt after our summer days ended! hope you all had a great few months.

School days- UGH!

I have no pic of my kids first day of school because they think they are too old for that. Ashton started middle school this year and when he got home he informed us that he got lost and ended up in the wrong class, he was running and his pants fell down, and that the school ran out of lunch. Now I can understand the wrong class thing, but his pants falling down- he does own a belt and the school running out of lunch- that's a whole set of problems. So I laughed and told him things would get better. Well the week went on and by Friday I was convinced that he should be home schooled. This week hasn't been much better. He is now getting picked on by a kid on the bus and is afraid if he hits him or something he will get kicked off the bus and then where will he be! He hasn't had a decent lunch yet because they have consistently run out of food. Yesterday he had his wallet stolen with his "emergency money" in it, and he also deals with a teacher that thinks these kids should be right on top of middle school by now! Ugh. is all I can say about the whole experience right now.

Then there's Kaylee who had called in sick by the third day. She says she loves school but somehow manages to get a stomach ache EVERY morning. We went three months with no stomach aches and so far have deal with at least 4. She ended up going to school by 10:30 when she realized that I was serious about her laying in bed staring at the ceiling all day. I guess somethings are better than boredom.

So here comes another year and so far it hasn't been great. I miss the kids. I don't like middle school and didn't want summer to end. Please wish us luck!!!!

Saturday July 10

Marty's cousin Heidi and her husband Chris adopted a beautiful baby girl named Elena so They had her welcome party down in salt lake at Liberty park. I love liberty park. It is huge and they have so much to do. the kids played and there is a water area that the kids love to run through. When Heidi lived not far from t5hat park Marty went and did her wood floors and while the finish would be drying we would take Ashton and Kaylee to the park. They always loved it when they were little so I was excited for them to be able to go back. I knew Kenzie wouldn't get in the water but she had fun just walking around and seeing the kids.

While we were at the party, Rob got a phone call telling him that a canal broke and there was water in their neighborhood and around the island. When we got back into town we headed to Tara's to make sure that their and Andy and Tiffs houses were OK and we saw mud everywhere. We also learned that the canal broke and made the land slide on the hill on Canyon Road. It collapsed a house and unfortunately there was a mom and her two kids in there. After a couple of days crew were able to recover their bodies and they were able to be given a proper burial. Our hearts went out to the families of the victims and we are still keeping them in our prayers. The island was a mess but I think that most of the damage was minimal and can be prepared. Ashton and Kaylee felt really bad and wanted to be able to do something. We knew that the first aid was housing people at the church down the street and so I suggested we make some brownies and take them to the families that were displaced from their homes. Linda also donated some cookies and after church that next day Michelle and I with Ashton and Kaylee in tow headed to drop off the goods. Its amazing how fast your eyes well up with tears when you see your kids doing something good for someone else. I hope that this is something they will always be able to see that they can always make someones day a little brighter. I hope all the families affected by the landslide recover.

Later on that night we went to the demolition derby. Tara and her kids and alot of her family were there. Kenzie loved watching the cars crash and we had a lot of fun. I hadn't been to a demolition derby forever and we always enjoy ourselves. Kaylee even got Mckayla out in the field to dance. They were so cute. It was a busy day but it was fun to be able to spend the day with my family.

Kaylee is the one with the pink shorts and yellow shirt and Mckayla is the one with the brown shirt and tan shorts.

4th of July

I absolutely love the 4Th of July. I am in such awe of fireworks and have always looked forward to the 4Th. This year Marty wanted to take the kids up to the stadium. I wasn't so sure about that because I thought that Kenzie would be too much work but I gave in and let him choose due to the fact that last year I was out of town and he didn't do anything. We went to dinner with Tara and Rob and Kevin and Heather and their families. I think restaurants get a little scared when we all walk in with our kids. (There were 10 with us and when Andy and Tiff join us there are 13!) But I do have to brag a little and say that I think all of our kids behave pretty good. They pretty much sit and talk amongst themselves and it is actually not very crazy at all. Then we headed up to the stadium. Some of Heathers family were able to join us and we had a great time. My kids were really glad to have all of their cousins with them. My nephew trey was so funny because he would copy the military guy that was leading his group in a drill. Everyone was quite so of course you could hear Trey. Then during the fireworks he thought one was so cool that he yelled "Wow! did you see that one Kim!" He is so funny and I can't help but laugh when he is around. It was great to be able to spend the night with family and Kenzie loved the fireworks. She was really good and just played with Maisey. I am so grateful for the many freedoms we have in this country. I am grateful for all the men and women that give up their lives and families to keep us free. They are special people and I hope that we can all remember the sacrifices they give up for us. It was a great holiday.

Finally posting

So as Tara pointed out yesterday I said in my last post I was blogging to my hearts content and then I never posted anything! That is about how my life goes. I did have good intentions but somewhere they got lost. So Here is an update with pictures:

JUNE:

Kaylee turned 9. She is getting so big and grownup and is a huge help around my house.

We had a baby shower for my sister. She looked so cute with her huge belly and her being so small. She is all belly and she is absolutely adorable.

Among other things we have been to numerous baby blessing, worked in the yard, helped with the garden and enjoyed having no school. We are very busy in the summer and love to go everywhere and anywhere We had alot of fun in June.

When I Blink....

Can anyone tell me why the first 18 years of my life lasted forever and the rest has gone by in fast forward? I remember thinking in my senior year how LONG it had taken me to get there and how LONG my life was and now I am looking at things and realizing that wow I am getting old and my kids are getting old and this life is going way to fast for me. Ashton is going into middle school- do you know the kind of kid I was in middle school? So I am not pleased that this time has come upon me so fast. Everything is coming at me fast. My postings are getting fewer and farther in between and I am just realizing that two months has gone by and wow I have a lot to tell you. So without further ado and before I blink too much more I am posting to my little hearts content. Enjoy!